ITU wants stronger standards role

Johannesburg, 23 Oct 2008

The International Telecommunications Unions (ITU) plans to set up a direct line of communications between it and technology leaders, to curb the proliferation of standards bodies around the world.

An ITU statement says industry and standards leaders find the existing 300 ICT standards bodies to be costly and inefficient.

Adding clarity and efficiency to standards setting is necessary, as the standardisation scenario gets more complex by the day, said ITU standards chief Malcolm Johnson, during the Global Standards Symposium, in Kempton Park.

"We must ensure we all pull together, and avoid duplication of effort and wasting our increasingly limited resources. Even large organisations are having difficulty resourcing this effort, so how can small organisations, especially from developing countries, hope to play a role?"

The ITU states better coordination at an international level is needed between industry and standards-developing organisations, to ensure standardisation needs are met quickly and efficiently. This is why a direct line of communication is being opened between technology leaders and the ITU's standardisation arm.

"ITU has long championed this cause, and is committed to providing high-quality, demand-driven international standards, which are developed rapidly, in line with the principles of global connectivity, openness, affordability, reliability, interoperability and security," Johnson said.

Economic development

"Standards are a proven tool in terms of economic development," said ITU secretary-general Hamadoun Tour'e. "The World Trade Organisation trade report of 2005 underlines the important benefits that standards can deliver."

Tour'e added that standards may have a significant effect on limiting the undesirable outcomes of market failure. The work of the ITU and other bodies in the development of global standards for ICT and telecoms has helped ensure a more economical introduction of new technologies. The ITU lauded organisations such as the GSM Association for their efforts in stimulating economic development through ICT investments.

Earlier this year, the GSM Association announced, during ITU Telecoms Africa 2008, held in Egypt, that the Connect Africa initiative is on track. The programme was launched in October 2007 and aims to connect over one billion people by 2012.

"We need a Marshall Plan for ICT infrastructure development in Africa," noted Tour'e. "We have to mobilise the world's human, financial and technical resources to support economic growth, employment and development across Africa."